Well, here we are again.  Another OT release, another kitbash.  But does it do the job, or is does it fall frustratingly short?

Controversy has surrounded the Modal Nodes since 1977.  How many band members are there?  What are their names?  What instruments do they play?  We’ve written about this a couple of times.  I made an attempt to set the record straight when I reviewed the TAC Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes Commemorative Tin.  TLDR:  There are 7 members on stage in the Cantina, and an 8th is sitting at a table negotiating with some unsavory folks.  I did a breakdown of the 4 different shots of the band from ANH in that review, to show the 7 players.  Chris followed that up with some screen shots to give more clarity to the situation.  In one final attempt to give ultimate clarity and lay out the band members, here we go, from left to right on the stage:

1.  Nalan Cheel - Bandfill
2.  Ickabel G’ont - Double Jocimer
3.  Tedn Dahai - Fanfar
4.  Figrin D’an - Kloo Horn
5.  Sun’il Ei’de - Gasan String Drum
6.  Doikk Na’ts - Dorenian Bishnequel (AKA Fizzz)
7.  Tech Mo’r - Ommni Box
and
8.  Lirin Car’n - Kloo Horn (Sitting in the cantina, wearing a sweater instead of the band uniform).

OK, we’ll revisit this shortly, but lets get to the review of the figures in the set.  The box is of the simple black and white variety, seen several times already with the TVC Troop Builder multi-packs.  The set is named “Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes” and unfortunately, none of the band members are actually named anywhere on the product packaging.  So it’s up to us to determine which figure plays which instrument, and therefore gets which name.

The 7 figures included are identical to each other.  They are very slight repaints (pretty much a straight repack) of VC249 Figrin D’an.  You can check out that review for more details, but essentially this is a kitbash and retool.  The only difference from VC249 is an added paint wash to the face, to add a little extra depth.  The good news is that the figure looks cool, and is lightyears ahead of the older versions, such as POTF2 Cantina Band Member, the aforementioned Commemorative Tin, and the Disney Weekends Cantina Band Member.  Those releases all were based on the POTF2 figure, with some tweaks later on.  But the articulation and sculpting is far superior.  The bad news is that the kitbash cuts corners, as the pants are wrong (the Nodes wore slacks, not cargo pants), and the lack of rocker ankles limits posing.  The figure is already outdated when compared to other TVC releases over the past 2 years. 

The 7 figures included in the set come with 7 instruments:  2 Kloo Horns, a fanfar, a Dorenian Beshniquel, a bandfill, a Gasan String Drum, and an Ommni Box.  Again - we’ll get to the bandmember names in a moment, but lets look at the instruments.  We’ve seen the Kloo Horn, fanfar, and Beshniquel already, as they were previously released with VC249.  They are nicely sculpted, proportioned, and painted.  The Bandfill is far superior to previous iterations dating back to POTF2.  The Ommni Box is something offered previously, but this time, it comes with a proper seat setup, so the player can sit as is depicted on screen.  This is a big leap forward in accuracy, and previous figures just held the Ommni Box in their hands (while standing), kind of like an accordion, I suppose. And finally we get the first ever drum set.  It includes the string drum itself, as well as two drumsticks (which kind of look like Bob Barker’s microphone). So the “stars” of the set are these 2 instruments.

Okay, back to the character names.  If you check out the list of band members above, as well as the list of included accessories, you’ll notice a problem.  Six of the instruments work for 6 of the band members, but the 7th is not resolved.  After matching the instruments with the figures, you are left with a Kloo Horn.  Figrin D’an was the only Kloo Horn player on stage.  If you look carefully, it appears as if there are two members that play the Fanfar.  Some research shows that Tedn Dahai plays the fanfar, while Ickabel G’ont (who is now female, according to Disney canon, by the way), plays the Double Jocimer.  While Wookieepedia states these as facts, I had a hard time finding clear images to compare both instruments.  From what I can tell the fanfar and double jocimer are very similar looking, king of like a clarinet.  So it’s possible, although not 100% screen accurate, for us to use 2 fanfars.  Also according to canon, Lirin Car’n, who is sitting in the cantina, is a Kloo Horn player, but he is not on stage during the scene in ANH because he is busy with some nonsense trying to get his horn back from someone he owes money to, or something like that.  So Hasbro gave us Lirin Car’n's instrument, but it’s actually Ickabel G’ont on stage. 

So what do we do?  The best answer is that Hasbro messed this up, and probably won’t ever fix it, but we can come reasonably close to correcting the situation by giving the figure another fanfar and pretending it’s actually a double jocimer.  While a second accessory was not included in the set, you can use the one that came with VC249, and just pretend.  Meanwhile, grab that VC249, give him a shmata from another figure, sit him next to Muftak, and BAM!, he’s Lirin Car’n.  The only way Hasbro would ever have a shot at correcting this would be to create a single-carded Lirin Car’n, which would just be a repaint of this figure with a different color shirt, or maybe a soft goods shmata, and include a Kloo Horn AND a double jocimer.  The chances of this are probably zero, unless Hasbro included one in a Cantina HasLab.

All in all, it’s a decent set, but is held back by the $90 price tag, the dated articulation and screen inaccurate kitbashed parts, and the lack of a double jocimer.  It also would have been nice if the characters were named on the box, but whatever.  In the end, we do get an upgrade to these guys.  The shortcomings are definitely frustrating, but this was likely the only way were were going to see these guys, and some of the instruments, in modern form.  It will boost your cantina scene for sure, but like some other upcoming OT figures from ROTJ40, Hasbro took the easy route to get this to market.  I think the set should be a 7, but just because it’s OT and it includes new instruments, I’ll throw it a bone and give it an 8.